His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons is the head of HM Inspectorate of Prisons and the senior inspector of

prisons A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where people are imprisoned under the authority of the state, usually as punishment for various cr ...

, young offender institutions and immigration service detention and removal centres in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. The current chief inspector is Charlie Taylor. HM Chief Inspector of Prisons is appointed by the Justice Secretary from outside the prison service for a period of five years. The post was created by

royal sign-manual The royal sign-manual is the signature of the sovereign, by the affixing of which the monarch expresses their pleasure either by order, commission, or warrant (law), warrant. A sign-manual warrant may be either an executive act (for example, an a ...

on 1 January 1981 and established by the Criminal Justice Act 1982 on the recommendation of a committee of inquiry into the UK prison service under Justice May. The chief inspector provides independent scrutiny of detention in England and Wales through carrying out announced and unannounced inspections of detention facilities. Their remit includes prisons, young offenders institutions, police cells and immigration service detention centres. They are also called upon to inspect prison facilities in Commonwealth dependencies and to assist with the monitoring of

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

prison facilities. The chief inspector is not operationally part of

His Majesty's Prison Service His Majesty's Prison Service (HMPS) is a part of HM Prison and Probation Service (formerly the National Offender Management Service), which is the part of His Majesty's Government charged with managing most of the prisons within England and ...

or the

Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom) The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is headed by the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor (a combined position). Its stated priorities are to reduce re-offending ...

, and both have been criticised at times in the reports issued by the chief inspector after prison visits, or in their annual report, delivered to the Justice Secretary and presented to

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. The inspectorate's independence has been interpreted differently by the different holders of the post. From the inspectorate of Stephen Tumim onwards, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons has been more willing to speak critically in public of government penal policy. There is also a separate post of His Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland, and a

HM Inspectorate of Probation His Majesty's Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP) is a statutory body and independent UK inspectorate funded by the Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom), Ministry of Justice, formed in 1936. Role and functions HMIP reports to the Secretary of State for ...

Prisons Act 1835

The Prisons Act 1835 ( 5 & 6 Will. 4. c. 38) was an act of the

of the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the union of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into one sovereign state, established by the Acts of Union 1800, Acts of Union in 1801. It continued in this form until ...

that introduced five paid prison inspectors. Sections 2, 5, 6, 11, and 12 of the act were repealed by section 73 of, and the third schedule to, the Prison Act 1865 ( 28 & 29 Vict. c. 126). The whole act was repealed by section 1 of, and the first schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1953 ( 2 & 3 Eliz. 2. c. 5).

HM Chief Inspectors of Prisons

* 1981–1982: Philip Barry * 1982–1987: Sir James Hennessy * 1987–1995: Judge Stephen Tumim * 1995–2001: General Sir David Ramsbotham * 2001–2010: Dame Anne Owers * 2010–2016: Nick Hardwick * 2016–2020: Peter Clarke * 2020–present: Charlie Taylor

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External links

* {{UK-prison-stub Penal system in England Penal system in Wales United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1835 1835 in law

Prisons Act 1835

HM Chief Inspectors of Prisons

See also

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